Tag: golf

The Problem – Top Hand Placement on the Grip 

Our topic today is probably the most common problem I see; the incorrect placement of the top hand on the golf club.  Almost everyone who starts the game begins by holding the golf club too much in the palm of his or her top-hand (the left hand for right-handed golfers).  This grip fault is often referred to as a “weak grip”. In most cases the club feels more secure in this position (see photos 1 and 2) but it is actually less stable and also leads to many other problems.  The correct hand placement will put the handle of the club more into the fingers of the top hand and will position the heel pad on top of the handle rather than along side. 

Grip Left Hand Too Weak

Grip Right Hand too Weak

The Potential Effects

Placing the club too far into the palm can result in several less than desirable outcomes.  First, because the club is resting in the palm, you will need to squeeze the club quite tightly to maintain control, creating tension in the forearms. This tension can inhibit the wrists from hinging correctly during the swing and cause a loss of power and control.  This lack of wrist hinge can also result in the golfer hinging their elbow in an attempt to finish their back swing (NOT GOOD)!  The incorrect hand placement causes the wrist joint of the top hand to be positioned to the side of the handle rather than the correct positioning over top of the handle.  This inhibits the wrist’s ability to hinge correctly as opposed to the more desirable wrist action and also leads to a breakdown of the arm and/or miss-alignment of the clubface. There are several other potential problems associated with a poor top-hand grip but I won’t bore you with the nasty details!

The Fix

The cure for this very common ailment is to place the club more into the fingers of the top hand.  By doing so, the club will fit under the heel pad and will also allow the wrist to position itself correctly; directly over top of the handle of the club (see photos below).  This will allow you to control the golf club without needing a “Death Grip”, allow the wrist to hinge correctly and will promote a square clubface at impact (REALLY GOOD).  The easiest way to check how you have placed your hands on the club is to lift the club to vertical by simply hinging your wrists.  This should be quite easy and you should not feel any need to bend your elbows.

Good Top Hand Grip for Righty

Good Top Hand Grip for a Lefty

Let me know if this article is helpful and if you would like to see a specific topic in future posts.  Good luck with your golf!

Today’s topic is chipping.  Strictly speaking, a chip shot is one played very close to the green and spends most of its time rolling on the green like a putt.  We teach chipping in three steps:

1. Good Technique = Consistent Contact
2. Consistent Contact allows you to learn feel for distance through the air
3. Practice teaches you which club to use for different amounts of roll

Consistent Contact

We have all hit chip shots when we hit well behind the ball and the ball goes only a few feet.  We have also hit the ball near the equator and watched in horror as the ball goes zipping across the green.  To become a good chipper it is imperative to have the ability to consistently strike the ball solidly.  To accomplish this we need a good set and a solid chipping stroke.

SET UP

Our set up should discourage excess lower body motion and promote a descending blow on the ball.

• To limit lower body movement, position your feet closer together, and bring your front foot back slightly away from the target line.  This is called opening your stance and it will help allow your follow through to happen more naturally.
• Stand more upright and closer to the ball.  Do not bend too much at the hips or with your knees.
• The position of the ball will be between your back foot and the middle of your stance.
• Position your hands in the middle of your grip (choking down).  This will bring you closer to the ball and will also give you more control over the clubhead.
• Your hands will be slightly ahead of the ball.
• You should have more weight on your front foot than your back (60% front – 40% back).

Chipping Set-Up

THE STROKE

Now that you are in a good set up position, your stroke should be like a putting stroke.  It should be an arm and shoulder pendulum motion.  There should be very little wrist hinging.  The loft of the club we choose will determine how high the ball flies, so we do not have to chop at the ball or help the ball up with our wrists.  By using this set up you should hit the ball solidly on a more consistent basis.

Chipping Backswing

Chipping Impact

Chipping Follow Through

DISTANCE CONTROL

Once you can achieve solid contact most of the time you can learn to control the distance your ball flies with each club by changing the length of your stroke.  This skill will allow you to land the ball where you want, on the green whenever possible.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT CLUB

In order to determine what club to use you must decide how much you want the ball to roll after it lands.  The best thing to do is take your Wedge and your 7 iron and hit it from the same area and try to land them in the same spot.  What you will see is that the 7-iron will will not go as high in the air and will run a lot further than the the wedge.  As you practice this shot, try using your 8 and 9 iron as well.  In time you will know how much roll each club will give you.

Remember to always plan the type of shot you are going to play, don’t just step up and hit the ball without visualizing how much roll you want.  Your target is the spot you want the ball to land, not the hole.  The sooner the ball gets on the green, the better.  Try to land it 2 – 3 feet onto the green whenever possible.

With a little bit of practice around a chipping green, you can quickly become a good chipper.  When you are a good chipper your scores will go down and your fun will go up!

I hope this helps your chipping game and those up and downs start happening all the time.  Let me know if this article was helpful for you.  Good Luck!!

With golf season almost starting, many of you will be playing lots of golf and maybe planning a golf trip with your friends or family.  So, I thought I would focus on some tricks to playing a course for the first time.  When I was “on tour” I played a lot of courses that were new to me and I needed to be able to adjust my game very quickly.  Granted, since I am now a teaching pro, I didn’t adjust quite quickly enough!!  Here are some tricks to preparing to play a new golf course.

Do Some Research Online

If you know where you are going to play, go the golf course web site and see if they have a course layout, helicopter fly-overs or pro tips on how to play the holes.  A little research may give you that little advantage that makes you more comfortable with the course.

Leave Time to Get Ready

The most important thing you can do is get to the course with enough time to prepare.  You will want to spend sufficient time hitting warm up balls but more importantly you should spend a lot of time on the chipping and putting greens to learn the firmness and speed of the greens.  Nothing ruins a day faster than struggling with the speed of the greens and three-putting your way to a high score.  Time spent on the putting green will really pay off.

You should also spend some time in a practice bunker.  Sand varies greatly from course to course so a little time familiarizing yourself with the sand conditions can save you some valuable shots.

Ask a Local for “Inside Scoop”

Don’t be afraid to ask a member of the pro shop staff if there is any inside scoop on how to play the course.  There may be a trick to the greens like “everything breaks towards the ocean” or the course like “take one less club on #12”.  People who are working at golf courses will be glad to give you some tips on how to play their course.

Ask if there are yardage books available that will tell you how far certain objects are from the tee or how far it is to a green from a certain point.  Also, find out if the course has sprinkler heads marked with yardages or if they have other ways of telling you yardages to the green.  Most golf courses also have a certain way to let you know about the hole-location on the greens (front, middle or back) so you will want to find out about that.

Ask someone who works there which tees you should play.  They will ask you how you play and try to be honest so they can give you some accurate advice.  A lot of people feel the need to play the “Championship” tees.  A lot of people have ruined a fun day at a new course by playing the “Championship” tees!!!  You will have way more fun playing from the tees, which fit your game the best.

Most resort courses or courses which get a lot of daily fee play will have a starter who can bring you up to speed on a lot of these things but a little research before you hit the first tee will make your day more fun and let you shoot a lower score.

Practice Before You Go

Many golfers play once a week when at home and then go on a golf trip and play 72 holes in 3 days.  The end result is a lot of aches and pains which can make a golf trip less fun.  In preparation for a trip, up your activity level in the weeks leading up to your departure.  Go to the driving range a few times, play a couple of nine hole outings and maybe even do some stretching to be ready for action.  You never know, a little practice may even improve your game!

I hope these tips will help you play a little better next time you go to a new course.  I have really enjoyed passing along my advice this year.  Good luck with your golf over the winter and I look forward to seeing you next year.

We live in the age of information. One of the biggest obstacles to improving your golf game is getting advice from too many people or trying every tip you read or see on TV or the internet.  Here is a list of potential sources of information and my thoughts on their quality.

Spouses, Friends and Playing Partners

• Everyone is trying to help.
• People tend to offer advice from their own experiences.  Most times their experiences are not exactly applicable to yours and therefore, their advice really doesn’t apply to you.
• Taking advice from a spouse, friend, etc. can make golf more frustrating.
• In short, unless you are married to or dating a golf professional, good friends with a pro or are playing with one, it is in your best interest to let people’s advice go in one ear and out the other.

Television

• The Golf Channel is an excellent source of golf information.  The problem is, you are getting the same information from several experts who say the same things, totally differently.  As a result, you can become very confused when trying to implement their ideas into your game.
• Golf telecasts provide a great opportunity to watch the best players in the world do their thing.  You can learn a lot from observing their swings and the way they play the game.  The announcers are mostly very knowledgeable but again, they are talking about the same things in their own ways.

The Internet

• Web sites offer many kinds of golf information.  They can be very helpful for finding out about different golf courses and golf products. As far as tips and other advice on your game, once again, one person’s opinion explained in their words.  Use web sites and chat rooms for information about where to play and products but try to resist the temptation to use them as a teacher.
• “Ask the Pro” or personalized lessons are a little better but you are still relying on the advice of someone who can’t see you

Magazines

• Publications such as “Golf Magazine” and “Golf Digest” can also be great sources of information.  You have to be careful when reading the instructional articles because they have different contributors each month and once again, the advice is from a golf expert but may confuse you when compared to last month’s articles.  Read them for entertainment and enjoy the great pictures but be careful!!

Books

• Books are a terrific way to learn about golf.  The good ones are written by experienced Teaching Professionals and will usually take you from the very beginning all the way to very advanced topics.  Books are potentially less confusing because they offer one persons views.  They are still lacking in that the author can’t jump off the page and give you the specific instruction you need at any given moment, it is up to you to decide which page you should be on.

PGA Professionals

• I really feel that getting some instruction from a certified CPGA Golf Professional is the best way to get started or most efficient way to improve your game.
• Keep in mind, the Teaching Professional you choose is going to have a big impact on your golfing enjoyment so choose carefully.  Find an instructor you trust and understand and stick with them.  Going from teacher to teacher is like trying to learn from all the different instructors on The Golf Channel.  This is the perfect recipe for confusion and frustration.

As you can tell, there are a lot of sources for golf information.  It is important for you to find one source and stick with it.  Whether it is an instructor in your hometown, a particular golf book, one instructor on The Golf Channel every Monday night or your horoscope, find a source which helps you improve and stick with it.